Welcome to the Department of Entomology

For more than 125 years, our faculty members, staff and students have been working to advance the field of insect biology and apply that knowledge to solve problems and improve lives.

As one of the top-ranked entomology programs in the country, our work spans the globe and impacts human lives on many levels, influencing a broad range of disciplines including human and veterinary medicine, farming, biodiversity and genomics.

Entomology News

The introduction of Bt eggplant reduced the need for harmful pesticides to be sprayed on commercial fields in Bangladesh. Mohammed Shajahan, left, works in a field with a day laborer at his farm in Bangladesh. Photo by Cornell Alliance for Science. Read more

Ann Hajek

Nov 29, 2018

Ann Hajek became a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America at the 2018 ESA meeting. This is a competitive award; 9 were awarded this year.

Elson Shields Awarded NYS Excellence

Nov 29, 2018

Elson Shields was awarded the NYS Excellence in IPM Award from the NYS IPM Program (a competitive award).

Pollinator Network

Pollinators are essential for maintaining floral diversity and for producing many important agricultural crops that feed residents of New York and other areas of the world.

Cornell University has a robust network of pollinator research and extension program related to all aspects of pollinator life: Ecology, Evolution, Biodiversity, Behavior, Pesticides, Pests, parasites, and disease, Pollinator management. Explore the Cornell Pollinator website for information on bee research taking place at Cornell, news and upcoming events, and for a variety of extension materials related to pollinators and beekeeping.

Engaged Entomology

EOA students Mike Wolfin and Zach Cohen have been visiting local schools educating students about different insects and arthropods while Joanna Fisher has been visiting with groups like 4H, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, Master Forest Owners, EAB First Detectors trying to teach the public how to identify invasive species like emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, and Asian longhorned beetle.

The Naturalist Outreach group has been visiting local classrooms and community groups to talk about the natural history, ecology, and behavior of animals and plants. They have also created a series of videos teaching the public about an array of issues from pollination to bats to aquatic insects and more. This group is not only teaching but trying to inspire and engage more people into science.

Insectapalooza is a one day insect fair held annually by the department bringing in families from as far as Michigan each year. This event reaches thousands of visitors who get hands on experience learning about many different arthropods, their importance and benefits to our community.

Emprire Farm Days and the New York State Fair are two other annual events attended by the Department of Entomology where large groups of people are reached.

A new book, “The Economics of Poverty Traps,” co-edited by Cornell agricultural and development economist Chris Barrett, highlights cutting-edge research on the mechanisms that keep people entrenched in poverty. Read more

A new series of dynamic bird maps from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology reveals unprecedented details not only about where the birds are, but how their numbers and habitats change through the seasons and years. Read more

Cigarette ads with graphic warning labels – with images such as cancerous gums and lips – cancel out the effect of ads that prompt children to think of smoking as cool and fun, according to a new Cornell study. Read more

Cornell’s Malacology Collection will get new life online when it is donated to the Paleontological Research Institution, which plans to digitize it and make it available to researchers around the world. Read more

Millions of times each day, New Yorkers turn on the faucet, relying on water supplied from about 125 miles away in the Catskill Mountains. Cornell expertise helps to keep the award-winning water pristine. Read more

Breanne Kisselstein, a third-year doctoral student studying plant pathology, studies disease genes that are associated with resistance to fungicides growers rely on to control diseases in commercial vineyards. Photo by Allison Usavage Read more

Entomology Research at Cornell

Pollinator Health Research Fund

Your donation to the Pollinator Health Research Fund will support the continuation and growth of new pollinator health research projects, and will also help us raise awareness about pollinator health through public outreach, speaking engagements, workshops, and other extension avenues.

Something Bugging You?

Do you have an insect, or photo of one, and want to know what it is?
Check out The Insect Diagnostic Labwhere you can have a scientist identify insects and related organisms or try your own research using available photos and information to help solve your question.

Centers and Institutes

2019 Summer Research Scholars Program

Cornell University’s AgriTech offers a Summer Research Scholars Program in Geneva, New York, for undergraduate students to carry-out their own independent research projects in Entomology, Horticulture/Plant Breeding, and Plant Pathology.

Student interns will work with faculty, their graduate students and postdocs on research projects focused on specialty crops that can be laboratory and/or field-based.